You know what the next wildest thing about pulling off a 64-bracket contest between movie and TV sweaters over a couple of weeks last year? Do it again and actually plan ahead this time.

Without further adieu, allow me to unveil this year’s bracket of contenders vying for the title of Best Cinematic Sweater. I may have repeated a few titles scattered throughout—by my count, it’s three titles returning this year (four if you count the Star Trek franchise as one entity), which is allowed—but I assure you, all of the sweaters are new this time.

If you’re worried about what sweaters I mean with those picks, those will come later. But feel free to Google early and speculate which knits I picked for which titles if you want! And if you want to keep up-to-date, scroll down below for the daily update—which I might move up once the tournament starts.

Last month, I asked you to help shape the future of this contest by letting me know what worked, what didn't, what could be improved, and (most importantly) which sweaters I should include. I’m so appreciative to everyone who said such nice things and took the time to fill out the survey to give me their feedback.

That feedback, to paraphrase a bunch of comments from folks, basically amounted to two things: 1) People wanted more time to vote; and 2) There wasn’t a wide consensus on what the best platform to use for voting was. Fortunately, these are things I can accommodate/change up.

I was already thinking of extending voting time because everything was so truncated last year, so this makes it official. You will get two days (aka 48 hours) to vote on each bracket/section of the first four rounds of the Tournament; that's the Round of 64 all the way until the Elite Eight. In the final two rounds—Final Four and Championship—you will get three days apiece to vote.

The contest will start on March 1 when I send out the first polls and newsletters, and the dates are all included on the photo of the larger bracket. But here are the major ones:

As for the second issue…A little more than half of the folks who filled out the survey said I should stick to Bluesky, but of the alternative suggestions I received, there wasn’t really a consensus. So to make things a little more interesting, I offer you this. You will now get up to two chances to vote: Once through Bluesky, and once through Google Forms. You don’t have to vote twice, but if you’re tech/media savvy and have some investment in this whole endeavor, you definitely can!

So here is my planned order of operation:

May the best sweater win!

While I formed a whole kind of calculus to determine sweater order—and I'm happy to go with what the numbers tell me most of the time—it ultimately comes down to a gut feeling. The math as I have it tends to favor blockbusters and old broadcast shows that, even during their worst season, networks would kill for now. It also isn’t the kindest towards streaming shows/films that have no third-party audience data or indie movies that make under $1 million worldwide (or less). Does it work? Should I keep the flat number the same? That’s for next year to worry about.

But this year’s bracket contains something I hadn't thought of: How do I determine where a sweater should sit if it comes from a film/show that’s not even out yet? This is the conundrum I have with Project Hail Mary, which I ultimately ranked 11th in the Holiday/Cardigan division even though the math had it ranked lower.

Project Hail Mary, an adaptation of the popular (and, might I add, absolutely great) Andy Weir novel from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is set to probably be one of the year’s first big hits: Early predictions I’ve seen put it at making $60-$70 million domestically its first weekend, which could very well change between now and mid-March. The first social reactions I’ve seen so far are largely positive. But the review embargo isn’t lifting until March 10, the movie won’t be released in the US until the 20th, and Letterboxd is on lockdown from showing star ratings until that review embargo lifts, a development I’ve only recently learned of but isn’t exactly new. Basically, no discernible data apart from the vintage Mary Maxim pattern that you can purchase online giving it a 10-point bonus.

The sensible thing would be to keep Project Hail Mary off the board until next year when I can calculate that number and give it a fairer shake in the standings; that might be more of a hard rule in the years to come. But also no. I am but a fickle person who can absolutely be charmed by Ryan Gosling with mussed-up hair, glasses, and a wolf cardigan, so it’s in there.

At the end of the tournament, I might just calculate the numbers we have right now for fun to see if I got the placement right or if I got the placement wrong. Or maybe it’ll all be pointless to wonder if it gets knocked out in the first round!

When I put out the survey for you to fill out, I offered an incentive: Fill out the poll and be a US-based subscriber (or sign up) and you might win the chance for me to knit you your very own hat. I’m not sure if it was successful as a subscription-driver, but several of you did opt into the contest.

I did the drawing last night, and the winner of Knit(ting) Flicks’ first Hat Contest is…Alexandra Gallant-Lee! I’ve already reached out to her via email, and I’m in the process of picking out some great yarn and a fitting pattern for her hat.

Knit: A distressed white cardigan with red and black yarn (not entirely woven in) x's across the chest and back, along with red and black lines bordering the x’s and on the bottom. In short, “a very expensive sweater that doesn’t look very expensive.”

Worn By: Sebastien Raine (François Arnaud), David’s (Dan Levy) ex-boyfriend and a photographer who visits Schitt’s Creek (the town) and takes some embarrassing photos of Moira Rose (Catherine O’Hara) before getting his comeuppance in Schitt’s Creek season 3.

Costume Designer: Debra Hanson

While I couldn't quite get Heated Rivalry—a show I absolutely adored and devoured, as I also did with all six books in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series—into the tournament this year², I bring you the next best thing: A spotlight on someone from Heated Rivalry who is wearing a sweater.

This is from an episode of TV that aired in 2017 and I kinda can’t get over how young François Arnaud looks here! Even though 1) Despite all of the jokes about Scott Hunter being a big-old dinosaur in Heated Rivalry, he’s not that old! And also looks great for his age!; and 2) Schitt’s Creek season 3 aired nearly a decade ago—and they probably shot this in 2016—which doesn’t feel real despite time and numbers both being very real.

It’s probably all in the beard tbh.

I can’t say I remember much about Arnaud in this episode (he was only in the one) or a lot about Schitt’s Creek itself, which I watched pretty early into the pandemic; the late, great Catherine O'Hara was a comedic genius, but I was cool on the series overall. But I rewatched enough of this episode to snap a bunch of photos, and I can confirm, it’s a Good Sweater, even if Sebastien Raine is a big ol’ jerk who does not deserve it.

Always a good sign when someone within the show or movie you’re watching is on the same wavelength as you, though!

I’m now offering you a chance to nominate your favorite piece of cinematic knitwear: Just fill out this Google Form to tell me all about it! If you need some suggestions or want to look at what I’ve covered in the past, I’ve got more information here.

And if you enjoyed this newsletter and want to directly support my work, you can leave me a tip on Ko-Fi!